Inlaid article and method



SePf- 23, 1941 J. J. LARMouR f 2,257,015

INLAID ARTICLE AND METHOD Filed July 30, 1958 ////4////// /l mmmm l l l l l INVENTOR. .fd/nwJZar//zou/f Psienfed sept. 23, 1941 INLAID ARTICLEVAND li/IETHODy James J. Lamour, East Orange, N. J., assigner to Plastic Inlays, Inc., Summit, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 30, 1938, Serial N0. 222,188

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to inlaying and more particularly to the nlayng of translucent materials, although certain features may be utilized in other types of materials. The term translucent" is used in the specification and claims herein, in its broad sense, to include both translucent and transparent materials.

An improved inlaid article and an improved method of inlaying is illustrated in the application of Milford Guy Sypher, Serial No. 24,518,

iled in the United States Patent Oiice on 'June 1, 1935. The present invention is an improvement upon the invention of said application, and is particularly useful in connection with translucent and transparent materials and with certain other materials Where special results and properties are desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved inlaid article and van improved method of inlaying.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inlaid article made of translucent material and an improved method of lnlaying said material.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inlay securely held in position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inlay, the visible surface of which is flat.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive inlay of precious or semi-precious metal, by minimizing the amount of metal used.

Another object of the invention is to secure a very thin. strip or design of expensive metal securely' in position and to hold it flat against the bottom of a flat recess,

Another object of the invention is to provide an inlayoi improved appearance without inter rupting or disiguring the exposed surfaeeof the articien Another object of the1 invention is to eliminate protruding parts oi an inlay and to prevent disA location of theinlay.

Other and. further objects of the invention will be an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in. vthe appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occurto one s 1li' ,in art employment o1', the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes oi illustration and descripticn and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the smciilcation, 'wherein Fig. 1 illustrates the invention shown for i1- lustrative purposes applied to a clock dial;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view illustra/ting details of the application of the inlay;

Fig. 3 is an illustration of a preferred method of inlaying the support, the tools being shown in inverted position to avoid inversion of the material being inlaid;

Fig. 4 is a modification of the invention illustrating an inlay utilizing a single strip or piece of metal;

Fig. 5' illustrates an inlaid article, which may be made of various types of material, in which the inlay is made in an aperture or perforation in the material; and

Fig. 6 illustrates a method of inlaying the article shown in Fig. 5. Referring again to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 thereof, there is shown a'clock dial 4 having the usual Roman numerals 6 on the face thereof, so that the hour hand and minute hand may indicate the time. By showing the present inlay embodied in a clock dial, it is not intended that the invention be limited to any specific article, as it may be applied to inlaying generally, and to various articles too numerous to specify herein. For example, the invention might be shown applied to fountain pens, pencils, instrument panels for automobiles, signs, cameras, vanity cases, scales, telephones, presentation boxes, closure caps, and various other types of articles, as well as to the clock dial shown herein.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, showing a. section through the Roman numeral I of the dial, the dial t is preferably made of transn lucent material, such as pyroxylin, although var,- ious other materials may be utilised. The materiai is preferabiy thin and has a series oi cesses 5 formed on the rear side thereof conform. ing in shape to thel'toman numerals intended to be indicated thereon. In each oi the recesses, there is provided. a strip or other configuration. of material t adapted to lie iiat on the bottom of the recess, te give a reguiar iiat surface with-1 out indentations, wrinkles or imdulations. lrei i erably, the meta?. is suiiiciently stift to its shape. ln. order to give it this rigidityand at the saine time to furnish a surface of precious or semi-precious metal, a thin piece ci metal is utilised with a coating l of precious semi-precious metal. This gives sufficient rigid ity to facilitate insertion of the strip which gives the visibie indication on the diall and at the same- Atime minimizes the cost.-

A second strip or piece of material 8 is force fitted into the recess over the material piece 6 to hold the latter in position and to form a. backing therefor. Preferably, the holding member l is curved as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 before application, and is nattened during application to increase the lateral dimension thereof and to force the side edges firmly into the sides of the recess 5. Where the dial l is made of a translucent plastic such as pyroxylin, the edges 3 embed themselves in the material and securely fix the member 6 in position against the nat bottom of the recess, the member E being supported at substantially all points. The metal member 8, even if relatively thin, will prevent the edges of the member 8 from being embedded in the bottom of the recess by guiding them toward the sides of the recess. If the inlay is in a shrinlsable material such as pyroxylin., the shrinkage lccirs the' parts more rmly in positim l and does not impair the inlay in any fnile the member 8 may be flush with the under surface of the dial or protrude slightly below it, it is shown in the preferred embodiment Well above the surface or" the diei to prevent protrusions lilrely to cause dislocation of the inlay.

The front of the dial 4 is smooth and uninterrupted. The inlays in the recesses 5 show through the translucent material and are plainly visible. The appearance of the dial is greatly enhanced over one in which the numerals are afnxed to or painted on the outer surface. The appearance can be further enhanced by providing a light on the interior of the clock but such a light is not necessary to bring out the form and beauty of the inlay. The depth of the recess may be increased or decreased to regulate the thickness of the material at the bottom of the recess and thereby increase or decrease the conspicuousness of the inlay from the front of the dial.

A preferred method of inlaying the parts is shown'in Fig. 3. The thin member 6 is placed in the bottom of the recess and the curved holding member 8 placed over it. The front side of the member I is supported by a support I0, and a tool ii is forced into the recess 5 to flatten the member 8 and embed the edges thereof in the sides of the recess. Preferably, suicient pressure is applied to cause engagement of the member 8 with the entire surface of the member 6 to hold it firmly against the bottom of the recess. The support Hi and tool Ii are shown in inverted position so that the position of the dial is the same in all of the figures. The tools may be adapted to apply one inlay at a time or to apply several or all inlays simultaneously.

The inlay shown in Fig. 4 differs from that shown in Figs. 1 to 3, in that a single strip of material 6' is utilized. It may have a surface 'i' of precious nr semi-precious metal. Preferably, the member 5 is curved as shown in dotted` lines in Fig. 4, so that it may be readily placed in the recess 5. Thereafter, it is flattened to embed the edges into the sides of the recess kto form a forced t. The member 6 must have substantial rigidity in order to produce the desired result. Hence, the modification is more useful with plated metals, whereasthe preferred embodiment may also be used with thin precious metals which lack rigidty -by reason of their thinness.

In Fig. 5 the invention is shown applied to a member having a recess in the form of an aperture through the material. The member 6 is secured in the aperture flush with the front surface of the dial or other article I. The holding member 8" is secured in the aperture directly under the member 8 and forms a backing therefor. If desired, the member i" shown in Fig. 5 may be additionally secured in position against accidental dislodgement by utilizing an adhesive substance between, its lower surface and the member 8" to holdboth members securely together. A support i0 and tool Il similar to the tools shown in Fig. 3 may be utilized for securing the inlay in position as shown in Fig. 6.

The support positioned as shown, assures the surface of the member 6" being flush with the front surface of the article. The.. embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5 is not as secure and sturdy as the preferred embodiment, but it may be desired in case of opaque materials and in certain other instances.

lt will be seen that the present invention provides an improved inlay and an improved method of inlaying. The exposed surface of the article is unbroken and the letters or legends appear to be embedded or molded into the material, greatly enhancing the appearance of the article to which the inlay is applied. The parts are held rigidly in position and the visible member is held firmly against ythe bottom of the recess to keep it flat. The parts are inexpensive and readily manufactured without expensive machinery. Hence, articles may be inlaid at a minimum cost.

As various changes may be made in the form. construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A translucent member having a recess therein, a decorating material in said recess and conforming to the shape thereof, and a metallic member having its edges embedded in the sides of said recess and extending over said decorating material to hold said decorating material in the recess.

2. As an article of manufacture, a member formed of translucent material, having a recess on the underside thereof, a thin material in said recess visible from the front of said translucent member, and a metal holding member having a portion with a dimension slightly larger than, the corresponding part of said recess frlctionally engaging and tending to dig intothe sides of said recess and extending over said thin material to hold it in posi-tion.

3. As an article of manufacture, a member of translucent material having a recess on the underside thereof, a relatively thin piece of metal in said recess having a surface of precious or semi-precious metal facing the bottom of the recess, and a relatively thick piece of metal with the edges thereof embedded in the sides of said recess to hold said thin metal in position.

4. As an 'article of manufacture, a member having an aperture therethrough, a piece of decorating material conforming to the shape of said aperture and substantially nush with the front surface of said member, and a relatively stil! piece of material having the edges thereof embedded in the sides of said aperture below said decorating material to form a backing therefor locked against movement in any direction with respect to the aperture.

5. As an article ot manufacture, a member of aesaois translucent material having a recess on the underside thereof, a piece of material in said recess coniorming substantially to the shape thereof to decorate or provide legends on said member, and a piece of' metal having its edges embedded in the sides of said recess to hold said decorating material in position, said piece of metal being below the surface of the underside of said transmem'ber.

article of manufacture, a member of tu ncent material having a recess on the unide thereof, a fiat piece of metal in said recess conforming substantially to the shape thereoi decorate or provide legends on said memloer, niece of curved metal fitting into said recess and having a size greater than the size of e recess with the edges embedded into the recess to hold said first piece oi position. .1, ianslucent dial for a watch or clock,

recesses on the inner side thereof corresponding to the numerals desiredon the face thereof, material in said recesses and metallic members having their edges embedded in the sid-es of said recesses and extending over saidV material to hold said material against the bottoms of *the recesses whereby said material is visihie through said translucent dial.

The method of forming legends or configurations on a translucent member, which methcemnrises forming a recess on the underside of the member, placing a member having a surface of decorative metal in said recess, placing an oversize holding member in said recess over said decorative member'and forcing the edges of said holding member against and into engagement with the sides of the recess.

The method of forming legends or congopaque metal member having a surface of semiprecious metal adapted tov show through. said translucent material, and securing a curved holding metal member in said recess over said opaque member by flattening said curved member to increase the lateral dimension thereof and to embed'the edges thereof in the sides of said il), method of forming legends or coniiguraticns on a member, which method comprises forming an `opening: in said member, placing a decorating member in said opening, and securing said, decorating member in. position in said opening by a hoiding member, and securing the edges ci said holding member to the sides of the opening by increasing an effective lateral dimension of the holding member so that the edges thereof tend to dig into xthe sides of the opening.

lL The 'method of iorming legends or configurations on a transiucent member, which methed comprises forming a recess on the underside of the member, placing in said recess a decorating member having a surface adapted to show through said translucent member and securing' a curved hoiding metal member in said recess over said decorating member by attening said curved member to increase the lateral dimension thereof and to embed the edges thereof in the sides oi said recess.

urations on a translucent member, which methed comprises forming a recess ori-the underside of the member, placing in' saidV recess a ilat l2. As an article of manufacture, a memberl having a recess therein, a lniece of decorating material in said'recess conforming to the shape of said recess and a relatively stiff piece of material in said recess extending over said decorating material, the edges of said stiff materiai being expanded outwardly and embedded into theA sides of said recess whereby said pieces of materlai are retained in position without requiring support externally of the recess; 

